The carrot and the stick method

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

The carrot and the stick is a primary system of coordinating work efforts in professional and personal settings. To put it simply the carrot is rewards as motivations. The stick is punishments for not completing goals.

1. Set a goal.
2. Create an incentive and consequence
3. Decide who should receive the carrot.
4. Decide who should receive the stick.

5. Implement and improve

First you need to set a goal. Is this a singular task or something that is ongoing because these will require different rewards and consequences. If you don’t have the ability to sustainably provide consistent behavior then it will lead to disregarding the behavior or task you are trying to work on. It is also important to note that long term changes also require greater planning. So once you have decided on what the goal is then you can work on incentives and consequences.

The second step is to work on incentives and consequences. These should be worked on at the same time instead of separately. As we mentioned earlier these changes need to be sustainable so we need a reward and a consequence that we can do that won’t be able to be overdrawn or cause resentment. It is important to note that both the reward and the consequence are teaching tools. Punishment and reward aren’t…